She's Just A Kid
by jamiemango
Summary: 16-year-old Shay Erikson was trained as an agent after the death of her family. What challenges will she face as she takes on drug dealers, gangs, and prostitute rings? Will she make the new family she never thought she would have?
1. Chapter 1

"Hey, Paulie, letter from the bureau," Charlie said as Briggs walked into the kitchen to get breakfast.

"Thanks, Chuck," He replied, popping a grape in his mouth. He grabbed a mug of black coffee and the package before he sat down across from Charlie at the kitchen island to open it. Inside was a short letter and a file.

Agent Paul Briggs,

Graceland has been assigned a new FBI agent. She arrives at LAX on September, 5th at 12:30.

After Briggs read the letter, he opened up the file "Christ." he said as he saw the picture and age of the new housemate.

"What is it, Paul?" Charlie asked with curiosity, spatula in hand.

"New agent," Briggs explained, passing over the file.

"She's 16," Charlie said, understanding Briggs' reaction. "So the FBI is sending babies in now. Christ, Paul, if she gets hurt…" Charlie worried, handing back the file.

"She won't get hurt. She has a lot of experience, and she outscored me on my practicals. She seems like a smart girl."

Charlie placed her eggs on a plate and sat down next to Briggs. "So who are you gonna make go and get her?" She asked between bites.

"I've got nothing going on, I'll do it."

"Don't scare the kid," Charlie warned, the 'mama bear' of the house already protecting her new cub, "What's her name again?"

"Erikson; Shay Erikson," Briggs said before pouring himself more coffee and heading up to his room to change.

Briggs arrived at the airport early. After navigating the traffic and parking, he headed to baggage claim to wait. He leaned against a pillar by the conveyer belts, people watching as he waited for someone who matched her description. Briggs was busy watching a young man tiredly trying to wrangle 3 energetic toddlers when he noticed a young girl looking for her bags. She had long red hair and fair skin and was wearing nude heels, black skinny jeans, and a sheer white button up. "Erikson?" Briggs asked as she grabbed her bags, approaching her.

" Agent Paul Briggs?" She greeted, with a shy smile, holding out a shaky hand.

"Just call me Briggs." He corrected with a smile before grabbing one of her bags. "Welcome to Los Angeles."

"You got any sandals with you?" Briggs asked once they were shook her head. "Shorts?"

"I don't," She replied.

"I heard they kinda threw this placement at you."

"Yeah" She responded, "And I don't have any sunscreen either, or any clothing other that isn't business attire. That was all I could wear at my last placement," she added.

"You'll have to go shopping with Paige and Charlie once you're settled into the house."

"House?" Shay inquired with confusion.

" You're living in a house with six other agents. Jakes is ICE, Paige is DEA, and Charlie, Mike, Johnny, and me are FBI"

"Here we are, home sweet home," Briggs said as he pulled into the driveway. "Welcome to Graceland."

"Woah…" Shay said under her breath as they walked inside.

"Charlie should be somewhere around here and so should Mike and Jakes. Johnny is on a case but he'll be home soon, and Paige should be making a late walk of shame down the beach any minute now." Briggs told the new agent. Having everyone's schedules memorized was something Briggs took pride in. "I can show you your room if you'd like."

"Okay, that would be great," Shay responded, still in awe of her new house. Once in her room, Shay began to unpack her bags. She filled a quarter of the large closet with her business clothes and placed her workout attire and pajamas in her dresser, realizing just how desperately she needed to go shopping. The last thing she unpacked was a framed picture, which she placed on her bedside table. "I miss you guys," She whispered to the picture before heading downstairs to rejoin Briggs in the kitchen.


	2. Chapter 2

Later that evening, after meeting everyone except Johnny, who was still working, Shay decided to try to be productive, even if she was recovering from jet lag. She brought her laptop to the kitchen area, sitting at the kitchen island when she decided she wouldn't be in anyone's way. Once settled, she got to work on her online schooling, which was required in order for her to work for the bureau. She had fallen behind on her assignments over the past few days, worrying too much about her transfer to get them done. She was stuck on a geometry problem when Mike entered the kitchen.

"Hey, Shay," he greeted, opening the cabinet and grabbing out a glass. "Whatcha workin' on?"

"Just math," she said with a huff of frustration. "This crap is useless. I'm pretty sure a drug lord isn't gonna care about similarity statements and corresponding angles."

"They make you do schooling on top of working undercover?" Mike asked, filling his glass under the tap, his usual curiosity becoming obvious.

"Yeah, it's illegal for me not to be in school, so I don't really have a choice. If I don't wanna go back in the foster system, I keep up with my school work," explained Shay in a mocking voice as she scribbled out another wrong answer.

"You have a lot on your plate…" Mike acknowledged, before taking a sip of water from his glass. "You want some help with that? Math was my favorite subject."

"Yeah, mine too, usually. If you really wanna torture yourself, be my guest," she slid the paper and pencil over to Mike, who instantly began working. Shay smiled to herself, glad she seemed to be getting along with her housemates.

"Yo, Levi, what's up?" said an obnoxiously loud voice, contrasting with the quiet of the house's main level. Shay turned just in time to see Johnny round the corner into the kitchen. "And you must be the new girl. I'm Johnny," he said, extending a hand.

"Shay," She responded, taking his hand,

"How's the homophobes?" Mike asked, earning a confused look from Shay.

"Good. They haven't given me much yet, but we're getting there." He turned to address Shay, "An anti-queer gang decided to drug and rape the first stereotypical lesbian they could get their hands on." He explained.

"That's awful-"

"Got It!" Mike exclaimed, triumphantly. "It's negative 2."

"You have fun with that, Levi, I'm gonna take a shower. Nice to meet you, Shay." Johnny ran up the stairs to his room, leaving Mike and Shay alone with her assignments.


	3. Chapter 3

A few weeks had passed and Shay, or Pecas, as Johnny had labeled her because of the freckles dotting her cheeks and shoulders, was on her first case at Graceland. An underaged prostitute ring run by Marc Arnolds, run out of Xposed, a strip club in downtown LA. She was working as a waitress in the club and had gotten on the good side of Aaron West, a manager, and one of Arnolds' main recruiters. She was working the night shift, 10 pm to 6 am. It was 5 now. The club was pretty much dead, just a couple of pervs getting their rocks off before going into the office. Exhausted from working for the last 7 hours on top of working on the case for hours before, Shay decided to call it quits for the night. "Mr. West?" She asked, knocking on the office door.

"Come in," West called from inside. Shay opened the door and stepped into the cramped space. "Shay. What do you need, sweetie?" He asked, skimming his eyes up and down her fair skin.

"I was just wondering if I could get off a little early. I have a to work my other job 7 to 10 this morning and then I have a test. I can stay if you really need, but there's only two people here and Tiff and Amy seem to have it under control and-" She rambled shyly, watching West's eyes light up at her innocence act.

"Sure, baby. You can go early. You said you're workin' another job?" He asked, standing and leaning against the door frame, his eyes down her shirt as he spoke.

"Yeah. At a diner on the other side of town. They don't pay great but they're close to my school. So I can work the 7 to 10 shift and then the 4 to 8 shift and then come here for the 10 to six shift." she explained.

"Ya know, baby, we could give you a gig with a friend of mine that pays twice as much as both of yours in a week in just a night," He said with a smirk

"Really?" Shay asked, keeping her cover. Innocence, rambling, nervousness.

"Yeah, baby. Why don't you start now?" He asked, unzipping his fly. Shay's eyes got wide.

"Oh, no. No, I don't think I could do that. I mean, I never…" She spoke, turning to exit.

"Hold on, sweetie," he said, grabbing her wrist. "I'm sure you'll be fine. You can do me first, that way my boss and the clients will like you, they like experience." He smiled at her, placing a hand on the small of her back and leaning in to kiss her. She pulled away, knowing she needed to get in a different way, she could not fuck this guy, she could not let him fuck her. She needed to get out.

"No, I really don't want to-" She was cut off with lips against hers. She struggled against the man who now had both of her wrists. He closed his office door and pushed her against it. Shay realized the only way to keep her cover was to go with this. Hesitantly, she kissed him back.

Shay walked into Graceland at 8 that morning. She had a dull look in her eyes and makeup smudged on her face. She smiled as she was greeted by Mike, Paige, and Johnny, who were in the kitchen, but they all knew something was up when the smile didn't appear in her green eyes. "I'm gonna take a shower," She mumbled, turning and going up the stairs to her room.

As soon as she closed her door, she started to shake. She peeled off her sweat-soaked top and skirt, her bra, and her blood stained panties. She looked in the mirror, examining her body for injuries. Bruising surrounded her breasts and trailed up her chest and neck and there were scratches up her back. She turned the water on and got in the shower, scrubbing herself down as she cried, desperate to rid her body of any trace of him.


	4. Chapter 4

After her shower, Shay pulled her hair into a messy bun and put on shorts and an oversized tee shirt. She didn't have the energy to make herself presentable, just enough to dab some concealer onto the visible bruises on her chest and neck. She was still shaken up by events of that morning but she couldn't let her roommates think she was weak; that she was just a kid. She reluctantly went downstairs to the kitchen, relieved when no one was there. She opened the fridge, scanning all the containers and cartons before deciding she didn't have an appetite and decided to work on her homework instead.

A couple hours later, Charlie entered Graceland after an afternoon trying to coax information out of druggies down Santa Monica. As she entered, she was confused to hear show tunes blasting. On the couch, Shay was slumped over, surrounded by a pile of papers and her laptop. Charlie immediately understood. She took Shay's computer and turned off the music, as well as picking up the piles of papers, and covering Shay with a blanket before heading to the kitchen for a snack. She was sitting in the kitchen, going over some files when she heard mumbling from the living room. Walking into the living room, Charlie saw Shay, still asleep, with a furrowed brow, tossing and turning. "No-" she mumbled, "Don't wanna….. let mm go…" She said through a mumbled voice. Charlie worried about the young girl, crouched down by Shay, shaking her awake.

"Hey, hey, hey. It's okay, it's just me." She said when Shay awoke, staring at Charlie, eyes wide and filling with tears. "Are you okay hun?" Charlie asked gently, as Shay swung her feet off the side of the couch, sitting hunched over, Charlie sat next to her, rubbing a hand maternally up and down her back.

"I- I'm fine," Shay replied sternly. "I have to finish some homework…" With that, she walked away, ignoring Charlie's protest.

Something was wrong with the kid, that much was evident. Charlie knew she had to figure out what.

"Briggs," Charlie called from his spot across the kitchen, gesturing him to come closer.

"What's up, Chuck?" He asked, cheerfully.

"I'm worried about the kid. JT, and Paige, and Mike all said she was acting weird this morning, distant; and this afternoon, I came home and she was asleep on the couch, surrounded by homework. I left her to sleep and she started having a nightmare, tossing and turning, and mumbling. I couldn't quite make it out but it sounded like she said 'No' and 'Let me go'. What if something happened to her." Charlie was consumed with worry as she rambled.

"Shhh." Paul pulled her into a hug, "I'm sure everything is fine, she's probably just homesick, but I'll talk to her. Is she here?"

"Yeah, in her room, last time I checked," Charlie said.

"Okay, mama bear." Paul placed a kiss on the top of her head, before leaving to talk to Shay. He was worried, but he couldn't let Charlie know that. He had already started to feel Shay was like a daughter to him. He thought that of all the agents in the house, he felt protective of them, but Shay even more so. Maybe it was because she was so young, he didn't want her getting hurt so early in life. He knocked on Shay's door before opening it and sticking just his head in. Shay was sitting in her bed, one earbud in. She was staring off into space, he didn't think she even heard him knock. "Mind if I join you?" He asked, breaking her trance.

"Sure," Shay said in a dull voice, not making eye contact with him. He walked into the room and sat on the bed next to her.

"What's going on, Pecas?" He asked, looking her in the eyes. She made eye contact for a moment before turning to look down at her nail, which she was nervously playing with.

"I don't know what you're talking about," She mumbled.

"Bullshit. There is something up and I want to know what it is now. The entire house is worried about you. I wanna know what's up." Paul searched for any signs that she was responding to his coaxing, she was seemingly emotionless.

"I'm fine. Please leave me alone so I can figure out how I'm going to get Alberts and his merry band of Pervs." Shay snapped, a coldness in her voice that had never before been in it when talking about her case.

Frustrated, Briggs though about the time Paige had driven herself to the hospital with a finger barely connected to her hand after she had tried to surprise the house by making them all dinner when she'd just arrived. When asked why she didn't just call one of them, she said she was new and she didn't want them to think she was weak and stupid. With this in mind, he tried a new approach; "Pecas, every single person in this house is already hopelessly in love with you. I told you we're a family. It only took a few days, and now you're stuck with us. The thing about family, though, is we take care of our own. It doesn't matter what they did or what happened, we look out for them. We never see them as weak or incapable. We help them and make sure they're okay." He looked over to Shay, she was still looking down at her hands, but this time, they were wet, tears streamed down her face. Briggs immediately pulled her into a protective embrace. "It'll be okay," He repeated to her until she calmed enough to talk to him.

As Shay pulled out of the hug, she noticed the big wet spot on his shirt from her tears. "Sorry…" She said with a bit of a smile.

"You feeling up to a little conversation?" Briggs asked cautiously.

"Yeah, I guess."

"What happened, kid?" Briggs asked, desperate for answers.

Shay grabbed a file from her bedside table and opened it, showing Briggs a picture. "Marc Arnolds," She said, gesturing to the picture, "Owner of Xposed, gentlemen's club, and the primary suspect of an underaged prostitution ring." She turned to another picture, "Aaron West, manager of Xposed, where I have been waitressing for only two weeks. I had been trying to get on West's side from the moment I walked in the door. He looks me up and down every time he sees me. He's disgusting." Shay said with a cringe, "I was working the night shift yesterday, and I was exhausted. Arnolds wasn't coming in and nothing was going on, so I asked West if I could get off a bit early." Shay gulped, looking up at Briggs' brown eyes, concern heavy in them. She continued, "I made up some bullshit story about having to get to my other job, acting nervous and shy, he likes that. He offered me a job in the ring. He didn't say it like that, but it was pretty clear that's what he was doing." Shay explained, "So I played hard to get, saying that I couldn't do that because I've never done it. He oh so kindly offered to be my first…" her words began to get mumbled as she became more and more uncomfortable, Briggs sensed this and put a hand on her arm.

"It's okay, kid. Take your time," he reassured.

"I say no, knowing I need to find a way in without fucking the club manager, and turn to leave. But he pulls me back and-" her eyes welled up with tears and she couldn't choke out the rest of her words.

"Shhhhh, kid. It's okay. It'll be alright, I promise. You will be fine." Briggs said, pulling her against his chest. He was filled with rage, the first chance he got, he was gonna teach this Aaron West not to mess with his family; but he had to stay calm in front of Shay. "Why don't you come down and Chuck and I can make you something to eat?" Briggs encouraged, guessing she hadn't eaten yet today.

"Okay." She choked out. Briggs looked her in the eye, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.

"It will be okay, Pecas. I promise."


	5. Chapter 5

That night, the members of the house gathered for a bonfire. Those of legal age drank, and Shay drank beverages of the non-alcoholic type. Things were starting to settle down when Johnny excitedly suggested s'mores. Everyone liked the idea so Johnny and Paige left the beach momentarily to gather the supplies. Once they returned, they all began roasting until Johnny noticed Shay had not yet indulged in making and consuming a gooey treat. "Yo, Pecas, grab a marshmallow, get cooking." he insisted, tossing her one, which she effortlessly caught.

"I don't know how…" she admitted with embarrassment.

"You've never roasted marshmallows?!" Paige asked in disbelief, "Come here, I'm teaching you." She commanded, patting the spot next to her.

With the group focused on teaching Shay the perfect method to the perfect s'more, Briggs nodded to Charlie. They got up and walked down the beach a little, the glow of the fire making each other just barely visible to each other. "She seems to be feeling a little better," Charlie noted, looking over Briggs' shoulder at the group.

"Yeah. I think talking to someone really helped take some of the burden off of her shoulders." Briggs explained, "She told me she wants the house to know, since they were so worried."

"When?"

"I'm not sure." Briggs admitted. Suddenly, Shay jogged up to the two, a s'more in each hand.

"I made you guys s'mores." She said with an accomplished smile, holding the treats out to each of them.

"Thanks kiddo," Charlie took the s'more and bit in, "They're almost as good as mine." Charlie teased.

"Shay." Briggs said with seriousness in his voice.

"Yes?"

"There's no pressure, but do you know when you wanna tell everyone?" Briggs asked gently.

Shay took a minute to think before answering, "Now." She answered.

"You sure, hun?" Charlie questioned.

"100%." Shay answered before they turned to head back to the group. "I need to tell you guys something," Shay interrupted once they were back by the fire. Everyone stopped their conversations to look at Shay. "I was assaulted on the job last night." the mood of the group immediately turned serious. "Okay, so not necessarily assaulted but I got hurt-." She stopped, tears filled her eyes and she swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to get the word out: "I was raped."

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry." Paige instantly reacted, standing up to hug the girl who was re experiencing the emotions she felt that afternoon.

"We're all here for you, Pecas." Johnny added, a rare note of seriousness and concern in his voice. The rest of the group silently supported her.

When she sat back down, Mike pulled her into a side hug, whispered to her "I have a story to tell you later if you feel up to it," while Jakes told her she was strong and he was there if she needed someone. She knew that was true of all of them, she could go to any one of them at any hour of the day and they would be there for her.

Later that night, Shay sat in her room, finishing up some paperwork. She closed her computer and stood to get ready for bed. She went into the bathroom and took a quick shower before brushing her teeth and taking out her contacts. She changed into some sweats and a tank top and got into bed.

*Later that night*

Mike heard a scream from his room, and instantly grabbed his gun to go investigate. There was nobody in the hallway or the kitchen and living room. 'Shay.' He thought to himself, running back upstairs to check her room. He quietly opened the door and ran to Shay's side when he saw her sobbing and gasping for air. "Hey, hey, hey. It's okay. It's me, it's Mike. You're okay." He soothed, pulling her into a hug. "You okay?" he asked when the crying had stopped.

"Yeah, I'm okay." she responded pulling away.

"Okay." he helped Shay get back under her covers and whispered "Goodnight." before getting up to leave.

"Wait," Shay called after him, "Will you please stay with me?" She asked meekly. "The dark, it's not the most comforting and I can't wake up alone after a nightmare again…" She struggled to explain herself without getting emotional again.

"Of course, Shay." he said, climbing into the bed and pulling her to him. It was strange for Mike, he was used to doing this with his girlfriends, but this was different. He felt the need to protect her, his paternal instincts taking over.

"Thank you, Mike." Shay sleepily mumbled.

"Go to sleep." Mike replied tiredly. With that, they both dozed off for a nightmare-less rest of the night.


	6. Chapter 6

"Take your dress off," Alberts instructed. Shay was grateful there was no video surveillance. She reluctantly peeled off her dress so she was only clad in a bra and panties.

"So, boss?" West asked eagerly, "Do you like her?"

"Yeah, I've got clients who will pay $500 just to see her topless." Alberts looked Shay up and down like she was a product. "Come here, baby, I'll introduce you to the others." He took her arm and led her through a doorway into a large warehouse. Once inside, Shay had all the evidence she needed.

"I'm not so sure about this." She recited, knowing this was the bust line. Within seconds, the room was flooded with armed agents. It was over.

Briggs, seeing Shay exposed, quickly handed over his FBI jacket, before helping to calm down the rest of the girls.

"Nice work, kid," Johnny said, patting Shay on the back, "We got two pervs and freed twenty missing girls, all before 10 a.m."

Later that evening, Shay sat in her room, laptop and books spread out across the bed as she finished school work and paperwork. She was about to get up and get some much-deserved lunch when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in," She invited, looking up to see Mike enter the room, bowl, and mug in hand.

"Hey, a couple days ago, I promised you a story... I come bearing your favorites; raspberries, and coffee."

"I've only been here for like three weeks. How do you know that?" Shay asked, getting up to clear off her bed to make room for Mike to sit as well as taking the bowl and mug and starting to snack.

"Every morning, you got home from the case with a pint of raspberries from the market on the pier and you came inside, brewed some coffee, and ate the raspberries," Mike explained as he sat down on the bed, facing her.

"God. I'm really predictable… Anyway, this story?" Shay asked.

"So. When I came to Graceland, my first big case was as the weapons trainer for the gang of a Nigerian drug lord named Bello. I had gained Bello's trust but his right-hand man, Eddie, didn't trust me. After a couple run in's with Eddie, I came to training and something was up. Bello was talking to Eddie in front of the group, Eddie accused me of being a fed and then Bello told Eddie this was gonna end one of two ways, Eddie turned the gun on me for a second, and then shot himself." Mike had tears welling in his eyes. He took a breath before continuing. "The reason I'm telling you this, is because it really shook me; and I didn't get help, I didn't talk to someone. I thought I could deal with it and I couldn't. I just don't want you to shut yourself off when you need help, ok? Promise me you won't."

"I promise," Shay told him, sincerely, "You can always talk to me, Mike. This is a zero judgment zone. Just to prove it, the first time I shot a gun, I was 13. I was so scared that I stood there, willing myself to pull the trigger, and when I did, I screamed and peed my pants." She told with animation, causing Mike to smile and laugh. Just then Shay's stomach growled loudly.

"I guess those raspberries weren't enough," Mike commented. "Let's go grab some food."

"I like the sound of that. Hector's?" She suggested, getting up from the bed.

"The only question is; do we invite Johnny?"


	7. Update

**I'm going to be making some revisions to the previous chapters of She's Just A Kid to try to get out of my writer's block. I'm hoping to advance the plot a bit differently than my original. Please go back and reread the previous chapters to be up to date on these changes. Sorry for the inconvenience and hope you enjoy!**


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